The Le Moyne grad behind the giraffe cam: When his bar flooded, he followed his dream

Harpursville, N.Y. -- Jordan Patch is the guy the world has come to know for his giraffe cam. Patch has had a web cam broadcasting every step and sway of his animal farm's pregnant giraffe, April, for the better part of a month.

YouTube abruptly took the camera down last week, pausing the vigil of millions around the globe who have been waiting, watching for baby hooves to drop from April's belly.

The story of Patch's animal farm, Animal Adventure Park outside Binghamton, is one of pursuing a childhood dream after the life you know is destroyed.

Patch, who graduated from Le Moyne College with a business degree in 2005, owned and operated Dino's Bar and Grill in Conklin for five years. The business was successful, but it suffered massive damage when the Susquehanna River flooded in 2011, along with Patch's home. He decided to close the bar and cut his losses.

Patch's true passion had always been animals. He's always had a dream to have his own animal park. "There was always an idea of, like, Dr. Seuss' 'If I Ran the Zoo,'" Patch said. "I could exhibit animals and create a hands-on learning environment."

But that had always seemed like a crazy pipe dream -- mostly. When he was still a kid, Patch met a camel named Maxx at a local fair. Ever since that meeting, he held onto the idea of having his own camel. For the years he ran the bar, he'd had a realtor friend looking for a nice plot of land where he could have his own camel. It would be his small piece of his childhood dream.

When the bar closed, Patch decided to tour zoos to learn all he could and find a new job working with animals.

"It was my chance to start over," he said.

Patch already had a background working with reptiles: Since he was a kid, Patch had run a reptile business. It began when he was in middle school, and continued through college.

"At that period in my life, I followed the reptile industry like investors do the stock market," Patch said. Working out of his childhood bedroom, and then, perhaps, a dorm room that might not allow pets, Patch ordered reptiles for his customers, checked them over for parasites, fed and watered them, and shipped them on. He dealt in the fantastical (bearded dragons and constrictors) and cute (hermit crabs and turtles). All the while, Patch built contacts in the animal industry.

After closing his bar, Patch was on the short list to help the ailing Ross Park Zoo in Binghamton rebuild itself and its reputation, he said. But he ended up not getting the job.

Now, he thinks it was fate. Around the same time, Patch had received an email from his realtor about a farm that had come on the market. It turned out to be a farm Patch had driven by countless times. He'd always admired the rolling hills and lush bog.

A few days later, Patch bought the farm. Then he got his camel. This, Patch is sure, was a delivery straight from fate. Patch noticed a farm auction listing a camel. The camel, it turned out, was the very camel, Maxx, he'd met more than a decade earlier and always dreamed of owning.

It took a few years for the full dream of Animal Adventure to be born. Patch opened the doors in 2013. The night before, Patch said to his girlfriend, now his wife, Colleen Patch, "I hope people come."

They did.

As the animal park grew, so did Patch's family. He and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Ava, last year. She required brain surgery shortly after her birth, and now deals with a rare form of epilepsy. At the same time, the park was undergoing a major overhaul.

It was overwhelming and Patch ended up delaying the park's opening last year.

With help of family and friends, everything got done. Patch and his family have learned to deal with their new normal. Ava and the park, he said, are his "two babies."

This year, the park is scheduled to open May 13. It stays open through October.

Now Patch has 200 animals of 70 different species. Last year, Patch said, there were more than 50,000 visitors. (Patch didn't want to say exactly how many).

With the newfound fame of April the giraffe, and her soon-to-be-born baby, it's likely those numbers will be higher when the doors open May 13.

But what about Maxx, the camel who was there when Patch's dream was born? He's still around and one of the most popular animals in the park.

With all the attention, and scrutiny, on his park, Patch still feels like he's living his childhood dream: